We are three cross-country mountain
bike teams composed of girls and boys grades 9-12 in the Salt Lake City area
who train together and race in the Utah High School Cycling League under the
governance of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association.The
coaching staff’s highest goal is to provide student athletes with the direction
and camaraderie that will help them achieve competitive success and personal development.
-Practices: Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday starting
July 8th.
-Races: September through November
-Scholarships and loaner
bikes available.All you need is the
desire to ride and train!
-In 2013 there were 640 student athletes and 41 school
teams competing in Utah.
The annual fundraiser for the Utah High School Cycling league rose to new levels this year at the Pacific Union Hall at the Gateway. First class!
16 teammates, parents, family, and coaches of the SLC Conglomerate teams were in attendance.
The Perrys
The highlight of our evening was to cheer as Sam Casper accepted the Jerry Steiner Leadership Award.The award honors a student athlete who has demonstrated outstanding leadership, sportsmanship, and volunteerism in their team.
Announcement and slide show of Sam's award
Sam giving his acceptance speech.
Sam and his family.
San and Coaches Jordan
sweet trophy!
SLC Composite parent and ride leader Glen Perry, chair of the board of Bikes For Kids, presented the Crusher Award to Tyrell, a very cool kid from Salt Lake Center for Science Education.
Glen Perry awarding the Bikes for Kids Crusher award.
All in all a great evening to see folks we have not seen since the race season ended. Plus, we raised money for the league and scholarships!
Oops, with the winding down of the season, we forgot to upload some pictures and commentary from the 5th and last race of the season.
Our state championship race was held in Moab, Utah, on the Moab brand trails.
How awesome to be a high school student and race in Moab!
We had fantastic weather on November 9. So nice that even the girls, who race at 10 a.m., were in shorts and short sleeved jerseys. Our star Freshmen girl, Lia, was having a superb race. Here she is coming through at the half lap. The other cheerleader is Lia's mom, Ellen.
Lia raced hard and well, but in the end a small crash followed by derailleur problems kept her from repeating her wins from the last two races. She still managed to place 6th which put her in 4th for the overall series!
The Freshmen and Sophomore boys were next.
Coach Drew giving last minute advice on the start line.
Thomas has been improving all year. So much so that he has had call-ups the last three races.
The race was off and running. Many spectators enjoyed the sun and excitement.
Crowds cheer.
Sam had a good race and ended up 5th.
Sam
And Thomas took 6th, which was enough to place him 5th overall for the entire season series!!
There were tight finishes and lots of excitement for all our racers.
At 1 PM, the JV and Varsity race got underway. One of our best riders had to sit this one out because of a bad fall the night prior at the jump park, but the other guys were in good form.
The narrator/coach gets a little excited in this video.
The final verdict on racing in Moab. Rad!
After all the excitement of the day, it was time to celebrate. Most of our student athletes and their parents came out to the condo to enjoy a post-race meal and revel in the achievements of our team.
Team captain Sam Casper presented a sweet surprise: gifts for all the coaches and a heart-felt note, "... you guys made Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays way more fun than normal!..."
So, Team SLC Conglomerate has put the 2013 season in the books. When Coach Drew and I (Coach Lucy) set out to coach the team this year, our goals were to turn kids on to the many benefits of racing mountain bikes. I know for certain that more than one of our student athletes found that fire within! What I had not anticipated was the fun we would have as a team and the friendships that we would make as coaches and as students. 2014 is going to be good!
A final note of thanks to all those that support our team.
Our Sponsors
Cascade Water Resources
Aspen Falls Chiropractic
Buckner Company Insurance
Guthrie Bicycles
Wasatch Touring
Private donors that are active in the cycling community but who will remain nameless.
Our volunteers
Coaches and ride leaders
Drew
Lucy
Steve W.
Matt
Steve G.
Glen
Travis
Rachel
Leonard
Bethany
Ally
Ben
Shawn
Collin
Ellen
Competing in a doughnut eating contest is hard work but demonstrates that competitive drive. Photo credit Steve Wilson photography
And especially the parents of our student athletes and spouses of our coaches and ride leaders. These folks provide support in countless ways. It really takes a village to make a mountain bike team!
Coaches Jordan with some of the Utah League big wigs enjoying the awesome trails in Moab
Pre-ride is scheduled for 2:00-5:15. Coaches Jordan will be at the race course during that time frame. Any help setting up the team tent will be appreciated.
7:00 pm is movies at Grand Co High School. The movies will be awesome!
Saturday, if you have not pre ridden, the course is open for pre-ride from 8 to 9:30. Lia races at 10.
We don't have any meals planned at the race course. After awards at the venue, team members and families are invited to our condo for an-end of season team celebratory dinner!
Season awards will be back in town at the Grand Co High School at 6:30.
Saturday's practice started in one of our regular stomping grounds, City Creek Canyon, but then we rode the steep up and over BST all the way to North Salt Lake to check out the fairly new (2ish years old?) Wild Rose trail system.
Fun little loops and a couple of downhill-only tracks made for big fun on an awesome fall day.
By secret ballot, each team member was able to vote for one student athlete he or she thought should be our 2013 team captain.
All Varsity and JV student athletes on SLC Conglomerate and City Mountain Bikers were eligible.
A team captain is the rider who best leads the team in all of its endeavors. A team captain
is a good mentor, shows leadership and organization, enforces positive
thinking, recognizes his team mates skills, steps up when needed, and
creates a fun and encouraging team atmosphere.
And now, without further adieu, the SLC Conglomerate 2013 Team Captain is:
.....
.....
keep scrolling
.....
......
the suspense is killing you
......
and here it is!
.......
SAM CASPER
Sam is a senior at East High and always has a positive attitude. Congratulations Sam!
Coaches and riders alike are tiring of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, so for Tuesday's practice, we went to Sugarhouse Park and played bike polo. Thanks to Coach Bethany for arranging to borrow the mallots and ball from a friend. Coach Steve, of Wilson Photography, took these amazing photos of the action.
And we were able to get 95% of the team there for the team photo.
